FSD 2010 - Forest Elephant

5th International Symposium-Workshop on Frugivores and Seed Dispersal (1985-2010)

Forest Elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis)

African elephants are the heaviest land animal, and the second tallest in the Animal Kingdom. They consume vegetation like leaves, roots, bark, grasses and fruit. In rainforest, they are known to play a significant role as frugivores and dispersers of large-seeded plants. Seeds dispersed by African rainforest elephant L. africana are larger and more slender than seeds dispersed by the amazonian tapir (T. terrestris) in the Guianas or cassowary (C. casuarius) in Australia’s rainforest (Forget et al. 2007). In Central Africa, some of the largest elephant-dispersed seeds are Tieghemella africana (Sapotaceae; 65 x 35 mm), Maranthes glabra (Chrysobalanaceae; 55 x 33 mm), and Raphia leptobothrys (Arecaceae; 54 x 34 mm). A recent study by Blake et al. (2008) on foraging ecology of forest elephants showed that they tend to avoid crossing road in unprotected forest, therefore reducing their home range size. Blake et al. conclude that “the restricted movements of besieged elephants may increase the destructive impacts of over-browsing on local vegetation, and reduce the effectiveness of forest elephant mediated seed-dispersal.” (Photo : courtasy Stephen Blake). Read report at Mongabay.com

References

Blake, S.and C. Inkamba-Nkulu (2004). Fruit, minerals, and forest elephant trails: do all roads lead to rome? Biotropica 36 : 392 – 401.

Blake S, Strindberg S, Boudjan P, et al. (2007) Forest elephant crisis in the Congo Basin. PLOS BIOLOGY 5: 945-953.

Blake, S., Deem, S.L., Strindberg, S., Maisels, F., Momont, L., et al. (2008) Roadless wilderness area determines forest elephant movements in the Congo Basin. PLoS ONE 3: e3546.

Theuerkauf, J., S. Rouys, A.L. van Berge Henegouwen, F.-T. Krell, S. Mazur & M. Mühlenberg. 2009. Colonization of forest elephant dung by invertebrates in the Bossematié Forest Reserve, Ivory Coast. Zoological Studies 48: 343-350. [pdf]

Theuerkauf, J., H. Ellenberg, W.E. Waitkuwait & M. Mühlenberg. 2001. Forest elephant distribution and habitat use in the Bossematié Forest Reserve, Ivory Coast. Pachyderm 30: 37-43.

Theuerkauf, J. & H. Ellenberg. 2000. Movements and defaecation of forest elephants in the moist semi-deciduous Bossematié Forest Reserve, Ivory Coast. African Journal of Ecology 38: 258-261.

Theuerkauf, J., H. Ellenberg & Y. Guiro. 2000. Group structure of forest elephants in the Bossematié Forest Reserve, Ivory Coast. African Journal of Ecology 38: 262-264.

Theuerkauf, J., W.E. Waitkuwait, Y. Guiro, H. Ellenberg & S. Porembski. 2000. Diet of forest elephants and their role in seed dispersal in the Bossematié Forest Reserve, Ivory Coast. Mammalia 64: 447-459.

Sources

www.wcs.org/globalconservation/Africa/africanelephants/forestelephants

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081028074428.htm

http://news.mongabay.com/2008/1027-elephants_hance_wcs.html

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Loxodonta_africana.html

http://travel.mongabay.com/gabon/topics/elephants.html